Erica Campbell is taking the excessive highway in opposition to critics who say she clothes too scandalously for a curvy gospel singer.
“There is always pressure for any woman, especially in the public eye,” Campbell instructed Page Six, including, “I’m a girl with curves that sings gospel.
“When you get to a certain level of life things get uncomfortable so — to whom much is given, much is acquired.”
But she says being within the public eye, it’s important to study to disregard what folks say about you, “You can’t say, ‘watch my show, support me on social media, buy my music,’ and then say, ‘but don’t bother me any other time.’ You do want your privacy at certain times. I want the liberty to be my full self.”
In October 2020, Campbell — who’s within the group Mary Mary — posted a photograph of herself on her Instagram web page to announce her Grammy nomination for “A Little More Jesus,” carrying a kind becoming white costume.
However the curve-hugging picture precipitated a backlash within the Christian group.
The Atlanta Black Star wrote that one minster responded, “THIS IS NOT OKAY. Yes, you are a beautiful, curvy woman…but NO MA’AM YOU ARE SINGING THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. Saints…smh COME ON.”
A gospel web site additionally wrote, “The sexy attire takes any man or woman’s mind off God and onto other things that aren’t godly.”
Campbell later admitted she’d additionally been known as a “hoe” and a “harlot” after the costume incident, and on the Frequently Asked Questions podcast Campbell known as out gospel music as a style for being overly conservative, “Had any R&B singer had [wore] that [white dress], they would’ve been like ‘Oh my God! She’s so covered up.’”
She added, “Christianity has a problem with sexuality.”
The Grammy profitable singer continued that, due to that, further judgement has heaped feminine gospel artists and their private lives.
She defined to Page Six, “I don’t really feel so embarrassed, like what if folks know this? … Nobody’s opinion issues as a result of there’s a scandal.
“You buy the music because it is good because there’s something of value … especially if you’re working on your mission and purpose to uplift and have courage.”
Campbell — who appeared within the WeTV actuality collection “Mary Mary” from 2012 to 2017 — additionally admitted that when she’s going via “dark” days, she listens to her personal music.
“I play my music when I need to be encouraged because my words are more powerful than other peoples words,” the “More Than Pretty” creator instructed us. “Far too many instances we study to rely upon the phrases of others.
“Not that I want to invalidate great speakers and great preachers that are in my life, but the fact that I can say to myself… ‘Come on Erica, what are you doing?’”
